Really odd dental issue, would appreciate ideas

Hi all! I have had a beautiful rescue chin since last November. Her owner gave her up after her cagemate died of intestinal issues and fed her oats as treats. Other than that little is known of her background. She also arrived with healed injuries, a missing toe and an ear tear.

I was concerned initially as she never chewed and disliked hay, and tooth chattered a lot. Since then I have bribed her into chewing with pumice and willow sticks.
However she has never been keen on hay though she has fresh daily. She has tried timothy, burgess excel chinchilla hay mix and I sometimes give her afalfa cubes to boost her calcium.

I took her for a visual tooth check under sedation when I got her. This showed no issues.

Today I looked at her teeth and noticed her lower set of front teeth is pale, almost white. The upper set is still dark yellow, which is why I had assumed her calcium was ok lately. But this seems very odd to me.

She is going back to the vet on Wed and I will ask for a referral to a specialist if they can't help.

I have been feeding her the following daily:

Timothy hay
Burgess excel chin nuggets
Burgess excel hay mix for chinchillas with marigold and grasses
Pets at home chinchilla herbal forage which contains twigs, rose hips, and leaves.

She has treats a few tines a day- tiny chips of dried apple (only about 4mm) and chips of dried carrot and a vitamin c infused rice grain once a week.

I would be very grateful for any info on anything I might be doing wrong, or what might be happening. She only plays when I am in the room with her and supervising and seems to be eating her pellets and generally happy so it doesn't seem like an injury.

Scratching?

Hi, my Jimmy is about ten months old. Within the past month I've noticed him scratching more than I did at first. His fur, ears, eyes, nose, etc. all look fine and his behavior hasn't changed. But he's itching with his back legs often. I reduced dust baths this week thinking that might be the issue but so far I'm not seeing much difference. Before this week he was having 2-3 baths per week and I think I was leaving his bath house in his cage too long.

I'm worried about the scratching. What should I try. He wasn't itching when I got him or for the first 6 months I had him. There have been no changes in food, dust, hay, or bedding.

How much hay should a chinchilla eat per day？

Hello everyone！
I am a chinchilla owner in China.My chinchillas are super picky about the hay.In China many people said that a chinchilla should eat at least 10 grams timothy hay per day to prevent the back teeth from overgrowing.If they are so picky ,the owners may stop giving the pellets to force the chinchilla to eat more hay.I never saw people in this forum mentiond that.I konw you always say unlimited hay,but I wanna know if there is a lowest limit for a chinchilla,and what should I do if they don't like the timothy hay.Is it true that no other hay can instead of timothy hay.

Adopting chinchilla from a fur farm?

Hi all!
Does anyone have experience with adopting a chinchilla from a fur farm?
Our goverment recently banned breening chinchillas in our country that will be used for fur, so, some of the breeder are willing to give away animalce since they had to shut down business.

I'm, wondering how will an animal that lived in a small cage adapt to the new condition and new home, maybe another chinchilla buddy?

I wisited farm few days ago, almost all animals chewed their fur, most of them are females, they eat pellets and have a stone for chewing, I havent seen any hay in their cages.

Any suggestions on this subject?

Bo's recent surgery, and now prolapsed penis

Bo had surgery on Saturday to repair a laceration that he had on his chest (he had gotten a scratch that got infected, and he proceeded to bite it open whilst trying to clean it), meaning he is currently wearing an E-collar (cone of shame). I noticed around 3 am this morning that his penis had prolapsed. We have had this issue once before, both with no signs of a hair ring. Last time I was able to guide his penis back in, and the problem had fixed itself within a few hours. This time, that is not the case. I just used a bit of neosporin as a lubricant to try and ease it back in, but since he has the collar on, he is not able to clean himself or reach his genitals to work on it himself. I called our vet, and the vet said to bring him in, even though it has only been since last night that the issue has been there. The vet is an hour away, and I am a college student that was drained of my savings account from his surgery on Saturday. If there are any vets that can give me tips as to how to help my buddy, or if it is safe to wait 12 days (when I take him back to have his stitches removed) I would really appreciate it. I don't have the funds for a repeat visit, let alone the ability to skip work and class to take him all the way to the vet. Any help is appreciated, I am at a loss as to what to do.

Moving

Hey everyone, it makes me very sad to have to ask this, but I have to move and my new place will not let me bring any pets..

I don't know what to do with my Chinchilla :(
Any advice would help

Quick Question on Ear Infections (currently being treated)

Hello!

It's been forever & a day since I've posted in here. My little stickshift last week (Friday/Saturday the 17th/18th of March) I had to rush him to the E.R at 3am due to him laying on his side, with a headtilt barely able to walk (walked as if he was drunk).He's always has been very healthy so I was a complete wreck when I saw him in this state. They believe its an ear infection (After I've done my research on the internet after the visit I'm assuming it is) They still haven't called me back for the lab results yet (Which I've been calling them every other day about it)

But they given medicine to him & flushed out his ear & given me;

Enrofloxacin Inj. 22.7mg/ml (dispensed only qty. 5
Rx; Give Stickshift 0.35ml by mouth every 12 hours until directed otherwise

Meloxicam Oral Susp 0.5mg/ml 15ml qty 1
Rx: Give Stickshift 0.4 ml by mouth once daily

Along with some Diet CC for herb apple/ban 5oz qty 1
(He does eat/drink on his own from time to time, but I do use this every 8 hours)

Btw; he weights 400g

He seems to be doing better, still has a head tilt but not as bad. He's still walks awkwardly but that's only because of the head tilt still, I'm assuming. He is trying to be more active by walking around but I usually put him in his crate to calm him down as he needs to rest. Also he LOVES being fed by a syringe (I feel like he's being spoiled & will never eat on his own again lol)

My question is; how long does ear infections usually last? I know every chinchilla would be different on heal time. but is there a ballpark guess?

New Oxbow

So, i'm sure most of you know that Oxbow has recently changed their Chinchilla pellets packaging. The ingredients changed a little. They've added Calcium Carbonate (8th ingredient), Sodium Bentonite (10th ingredient) & Copper Proteinate (26th ingredient) and removed Ferrous Sulfate and Selenium Yeast. The order of a few of the ingredients have changed. Its all gibberish to me, but others may know what all those ingredients are haha. My questions are:

1. Should the new Oxbow be introduced like a new food?
2. Is this still one of the best options for food?

The addition of the Calcium Carbonate concerns me. I know there were a few people on the forum who were saying Oxbow had too much Calcium and could cause bladder stones and now they are adding more Calcium to the food. I know others said Oxbow, like most pellets, had Calcium due to the Alfalfa base and that it would not cause stones. Im wondering if, now that they've added Calcium, could this cause stones?

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Dental filing during roadtrip? Or postpone it?

I have a chin that needs dental filing. But we are moving within one week and will take him with us on a roadtrip. I am wondering whether I should find a vet on my roadtrip so that he can get treatment as soon as possible or wait until we arrive at our destination, West Virginia, which will be one week further later.

I would very much like to have someone working on him now. But there is no reputed vet at LA willing to do so. This is because he just had a prolapsed penis and difficulty in peeing. This difficulty came partially from an inflammation of the end of the penis and a likely stone at urethral canal (stone appeared at some angle, not others on X-ray). The vets treat plan varied from opening a second urethral canal, surgery removal of the stone, and amputation. And yes, we went to four different vets although we are poor, and this is the treatment plan. These needed to be done in a row and we thought that's too much for a chin. We turned down all the suggested treatment plans except for pain killers and prepared our chin to die. Fortunately, the chin was so strong that he recovered on his own (it is a miracle, I know). His penis has retracted. He poops and pees normally. He is very energetic. He has been eating pellets and hay cubes on his own for more than 10 days. But we can notice some difficulty in eating and he cannot eat loose hay.

I don't know whether it is because vets don't like difficult-dealing parents like us or because the case is too complicated. But when I reach out to them for dental filing, they just don't like to accept our chin any more. And I am talking about the LA vets that are highly recommended on this site. This is just so frustrating.

I am wondering what should I do. And I am also asking for good vet recommendations, particularly around West Virginia. I was so happy for my chin to get out of that emergency and am shocked to find out the lack of available vets. Nevertheless, thank you for everyone in advance.

Advice about anyone who's lost a Chin

Hello, my gorgeous chinchilla Roo sadly died today. Her sister Roxy seems so heartbroken. I wondered if anyone had any advice about how to comfort her? Whether they've introduced a new chin to be a companion. No chin could replace Roo at all as she was very loved my my family and her sister but I don't want her sister to go down hill. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Best wishes Rhiannon xx

Travelling

I will be travelling for a week and I have 2 chinchillas. I am planning on leaving one with a friend and the other with another. They do not like each other and I don't want any accidents with them coming in contact, so thats why they are being sent to 2 different houses. I currently have them housed in a Critter Nation type cage, but am trying to find a more portable smaller cage they can stay in for a week. Does anyone know of a good cage to buy that isn't too expensive, since I do have to buy 2 of them.

Questions from a new Owner

I just adopted 2 Chins today. It's been 10 yrs since I've owned a chinchilla
I was told they had to go together and unfortunately 1 is male and 1 is female. She may be pregnant. They are 4 yrs old
So Question #1 Do I seperate then immediately? I don't want to much stress but she may already be pregnant but if stress he isn't I wouldn't want her to be. So what do I do? If I seperated them will they be ok alone???

#2 They are loosing tuffs of fur. Like shedding? Is that normal? I have them setup in a good cage and gave them dust bath which they are constantly in there. Do I brush out the loose fur?

#3 What Colors are they? The male is a Mosiac. I'm not sure if the girl is a Brown Velvet or not? Previous was unsure. She though Lavender but I don't think so.
I can't get it to upload my photod so I'll work on that....

Hello from NY!!!!

Hello I'm Tori. I'm from NY. I just adopted 2 Chinchillas today and I also have Hedgehogs too. 2 Boys and 2 Girls and 2 babies (Long story short Momma came pregnant from the petstore). I just got the girls. I've had the boys a while. They are are ll seperate no more babies after these ones they were a big surprise.

AnyWho......the Chins. I haven't owned chinchillas in like 10 yrs. The 2 I got today are about 4 yrs old they lady said they had to go together and she may be pregnant. 1 boy aND 1 girl. Anyway I come seeking advice and stuff but wanted to introduce myself first.

Monkey is lethargic and at the vet now

My poor little chinchilla, Monkey... He was fine all along until just yesterday morning. He didn't come out of his hutch in his cage for playtime. Normally he is super eager to get out of his cage so I knew that was odd. Then it was a really hot day in San Francisco (which means it got up to 80), so I was worried it was the heat but I put cool things in his cage and he ignored them. So this morning I took him to the vet. I took him to a vet that will treat chinchillas, thank goodness, but I am worried because what if they don't know what they are doing? The vet said she thought he was middle-aged but he's only 4 years old and I said I thought that was young still but maybe we just have different ideas about age and what am I going to do, quiz her? - what if she doesn't know what she's doing?! Okay, I know, I'm freaking out a little too much. She checked him and seemed like she knew what she was doing. I'm just worried for my little guy. She said with digestive issues, a lot of times chins don't make it, and to prepare myself for that. Of course she also assured me they were going to do everything they could.
They're giving him two broad spectrum antibiotics, fluids, assisted feeding, bloodwork... I'm almost worried that all the things they are going to do are going to scare him to death. How could I leave him with these strange people in a strange place...god I am not handling this well.
Has anyone else ever been in this situation? I could really use some support from people in the community right now. I didn't realize how much I loved Monkey until this happened! He's my baby...
-Amy

Best combinations in a herd?

Hi!
I'm new to Chins n Hedgies and definitely new to the world of Chinchillas in general! One question that I haven't been able to get a good answer to is the best combination for a herd of chins. I've heard two females and a male, all the same gender, and many others... what is your preference? Can three males get along?

Thanks!

Cat Comfort Zone Safe for Chinchilla?

I am about to move with my cats and chinchilla and our vet recommended using the Cat comfort Diffuser for the first few weeks to help the transition but I'm not sure if it is safe for my chinchilla as it has to be in the same room.

How can I,a new owner, create a bond and handle hygienic problem of chinchillas?

Hi everyone.
So, 1 week ago, me and my boyfriend decided to adopt 2 chinchillas, Grey and White. They're 2 males, about 1 year old, and they've grown up together since babies. We've never thought of having small pets before, but due to the circumstance, these two chinchilla could have felt into a worse situation if we had not adopted them :(

We keep the chinchilla at my boyfriend's place, and for some reasons, we had to keep the cage outside. My boyfriend put the cage in the shade, and put a black blanket over the top that also falls on the sides to keep them warm with cold temperature at night and cool from the heat/sun during day time ( we live in California).
When they first came, We made a BIG MISTAKE. We took out the flying saucer, a small container , and a hide away. Those look dirty, shabby, and cracking. What we still keep in the cage is a brick that they're usually sleep on.
Hoping to bring them the best without understanding chinchillas, we replaced these items with 2 small hammock, a new hide away, a piece of granite stone, and a small bed. Obviously they're pretty scared and wouldn't come near us the first day when we were at the cage's door. They even slept with their eye open. in the next few days, we started talking to them, feeding them, cleaning the cage, giving dust bath. When it's hot, i tried to take the granite stone out of the cage, put it in the freezer to help the chins cool down with the heat of California during daytime ( I'm thinking of making a solar powered fan for them and put it outside the cage, have anyone ever thought about this idea?)
So, it's been 1 week. Now, as i or my boyfriend come close to the gate, they will also come close to us and nibble our fingers. Whenever is feeding time, i only have to open the gate door and they'll just climb up and down my fingers. ( I tried to rub their neck but it seemed like they're not ready yet). i think they're still scared and have yet to feel comfortable with the new environment, which is understandable,i hope somebody can show us how to understand them more deeply.This is a picture of them now



Also, we don't know how to potty train the chinchillas, they poop everywhere in the cage, we have yet to figure out where they pee, The white one seems to have urine on his hair, i weren't able to take a picture, but i could see the yellow stain around his pee hole. Another problem is their hair look really really bad, it's dirty and clumped together, especially after taking the dust bath ( i thought the dust bath will make them more clean?). Is it because not cleaning the cage frequently enough, because of their urine, or a more sensitive reason since they're 2 males?
This is the picture of their hair



I'm really sad, because i don't know how to help them, being dirty can make them stressed out

And also, why the grey one does this? leaning on the cage? is it because it's daytime and he's drowsy?


Thank everyone and i'm waiting to get help

Major Illness

Hello - this is my first post here, and I have not taken time to introduce myself yet. I have a herd of chins and am a hobby breeder.

During the last two months, my chins have suffered a major unknown illness, and I have lost several. I need advice, if anyone has thoughts. Here's what's happening:

Basically, I find the chin, not alive. It's that fast. Occasionally, the chin will look down for a day or so, and other times, it's so sudden, I never realize anything is wrong. This has hit all age groups.

I feed Purina Rabbit Show, fresh mixed hay and occasional Manna and oats, etc. No sweet treats or nuts.

I have washed, sanitized cages and waterers.

I sent one chin to the University of Minnesota for an autopsy, and the results were inconclusive. The chins was about 18 months old, went very sudden. She was healthy and frolicking one day in a dust bath - gone the next day. her cage mate girls were fine, then I lost another a week later. The other cage mate girls seem fine - for today.

The vet there said he noted a small amount of giardia, nothing that would have caused major issues. There was no loose stool. All other parasite, viral and bacterial studies were negative.

He noted her bones were very week, and her liver was pale and fatty.

That's all I have to go by. Today, I am losing another - she is taking longer to pass. She is three years old, seemingly very healthy to this point. Is not pregnant/lives with one other girl chin. There is no violence/attacks, etc.

The UofM vet seemed to think nutrition was the issue. I do not feed fatty treats or sweets. They get fed every day, no skipping. They are not too hot or cold, have 12-hours of light.

Please help. I live in an area with no exotic pet vet. My local vet can draw blood, but won't know what to look for, plus I don't know what else I can learn that the UofM didn't see.

Thanks.

Question about sleeping boxes and a couple of other things

We have 2 female chinchillas that we took in from a friend who didn't want them anymore. She'd had them for six months and says they are around 10 months old (pet store chins).

She had them in a single critter nation cage, which she gave us. The only thing in the cage, besides the plastic shelf was an igloo, food dish, water bottle and chin spin. :cry3:

We immediately replaced the plastic shelf with wooden ledges and perches and took out the igloo and put in a wooden sleeping box, and added some chin safe chew toys etc. However, one of the chins seems lost without the igloo. She will not sleep in the wooden box, she keeps wandering around the cage looking lost and making anxious noises and stuffs herself under the bottom of the chin spin wheel to sleep, which she can only do by laying flat.

After two days of this, I put the igloo back in and she immediately went in there and slept peacefully through the day. I still have the other sleeping box in there too. So my question is - should I keep the igloo in for a little while until she adjusts to the sleeping box? They have chewed on the plastic in the doorway area a little, although I haven't seem them do it since we've had them. I'm worried about having that plastic in there though... The other chin is happy as anything, bouncing all over the place and took to the box right away.

Also, they were on the horrible "mixed" food. I ordered some Oxbow which will be here today. Should I do a gradual switch or just take them off the other food right away? I have been picking out the worst bits, but it's not easy to get it all out and just leave the pellets. But I don't want to cause digestive issues if I cold turkey switch them.

Last question, I have read conflicting things about Care Fresh bedding. That is what she had been using and what I have in there now. I am allergic to aspen shavings so we can't switch to that. I'm considering switching to fleece but am trying a fleece covered tube right now to see if they eat the fleece. If I did switch it'd probably be at least a few weeks before I could get the liners made. I was hoping to continue with the Care Fresh, at least temporarily but am worried about blockages... She said they eat the Care Fresh, although I haven't observed that yet. They do have a lot more to chew on in there now so maybe that will help.

Thanks in advance for any info. We ended up having to take them in 3 weeks earlier than we had planned, so I'm scrambling a bit to get them set up.

Bump on back

My chinchillas are almost one year (in April) and I have come here and other forums occasionally for random questions, but I never made an account until now.

On Sunday I noticed one of my girls had a bump about 1cm from her spine while I had them out playing I parted the fur around it and there's this "tumor" looking bump that has dry skin on top of it. It isn't gross or wet, not liquid of any kind---it's just there.

She doesn't act in pain. Shes eating, drinking, running, jumping, lets me pet her including the bump (wasn't a fan of me parting her fur around it to see), and rolls on it for baths.

I have an appointment, but they couldn't get us in until Friday. I have searched just about every term I can think of and can't find anything similar.

Has anyone seen this? Any Ideas?

Thank you in advance!

New owner; really confused

A few days ago I went to a pet store to get a chin. I seemed to really jump in without thinking. I bought it a large cage , plenty of hay and high quality chin food, it has a house, a wheel, some toys , and it's dust bath. However I made the mistake of trying to handle it on the first day. Now it seems to hate me. I can't sit near the cage without it barking and making a hissing noise and jumping towards me. I can't even reach in the cage to get her food or hay without her barking. I also believe I have the wrong bottom for her cage. I bought a chinchilla kit but the bottom seems to be plastic and I understand they can't have plastic bottoms. I'm really at a lost and in scared that I may have caused her to hate me forever. Does anyone have any type of advice or knowledge that they can instill on a new chin owner?

Water Bottle Problems

I have had problems with two different brands of water bottles for my chin. She will drink a few drops, then the flow of the water stops. If I tap the top bubbles come up so I know it's a problem with the vacuum and the air bubbles don't have a way to float to the top. What water bottles do not have this as a problem? I bought the chew proof Kaytee water bottle, and it went through phases of working and not working. The second kind I bought was a cheap one from Walmart this morning hoping that it would work better than the one I already have.
Any suggestions on brands or how to solve this problem would be much appreciated.

Advice pls! Swollen genitals/sheath

Hello all, I'm looking for some advice please! I often find people on these forums more knowledgeable than some non-exotic vets. I'll be booking an appointment with my local vet tomorrow but thought it may be worth asking on here in the meantime. Unfortunately the last time I found a knowledgeable vet for chins it was 5 years ago and over an hours drive away :(
Yesterday I noticed my chins genitals/sheath was red and swollen - probably twice the size as normal. The penis is still in the sheath but appears swollen and red. I have inspected the penis for hair rings etc. the penis when out appears totally fine but it's swollen on the sheath/base when extended. There is no discharge. He is urinating still. I read somewhere that boys can sometimes nip themselves whilst cleaning. Any other ideas why it could be so swollen?
Thanks in advance

Your go to shop

I'm not sure where to put this thread exactly so I'll put it here. Anyway, what's your favorite shop to buy all your chinchilla toys, food, cages, bedding etc? I personally get most of my stuff from Drs. Foster and Smith since everything is so cheap there (comparing the same exact items from Drs. to pet smart was literally half the price!) I'm just looking for more shops that carry chin toys at a reasonable price. Some of the shops I saw on etsy were just too pricy for me!

Any tips would be appreciated! :)

So I got a chin on Sunday last week, and I've left him alone except to change his water, and check his food, etc. whenever I walk in the room he disappears to the first floor of his cage. I sit in front of his cage and talk to him and stuff until he barks at me then I either leave get up and walk away so I don't stress him out or I at least back up a little so he can trust me. After a couple days of doing this he's okay with me putting my finger through the cage and not moving while he comes up to the edge of the cage. He hasn't actually smelled my fingers yet but he's getting close. Also today I gave him his first bath and this is the first time he's played in his cage and stud with me sitting a couple feet away. He hasn't been drinking too much water either. Is that normal? Sorry this is so long, I just want to make sure I'm doing every thing right!

Dust bath house

Hello. I need a dust house for my 2 chins that is not plastic. Any ideas?

Shelving and ledge

I've been reading these forums for over 2 years now, long before I got my own chinchillas, and you've taught me a lot!

I have recently bought a Liberta Explorer II cage to replace my old cage.

Does anyone know how/where I can buy a shelf to fit underneath it? The stand is probably a foot and a half high, and there's a horizontal bar that goes around all 4 sides of the stand, 2-3 inches off the ground, and it'd be ideal to have a chinchilla safe surface (wooden or a metal rack) to place on those bars to give me a shelf to store some things on.

My other question was about shelving. Is there anywhere in the UK that sells solid pine shelves, with a pine edge on to help to contain the mess? There are sellers in the US selling similar. But in the UK, I can only find plywood shelves like this, or solid pine shelves with no edging.

Thanks.

Biggles and Bertie will be grateful for the input!

Oldest virgin female bred

I have a 6/7 y.o female chin that has never been housed with another chin due to her getting picked on. All her life she has had a Degu for a cage mate. Sadly her cage mate died and I am looking at getting a young chin to see if she will accept it for a cage mate. I have been told that since she is so old and has never bred she won't breed if I get her a young/baby male. Is this true? I have been looking for another degu but am having problems finding one that she likes. Any ideas to help her from being so lonely? thanks

Chin wanted in So Cal??

Our family is looking for a standard chin. My son 13 will be the primary daily care giver and has been doing tons of research and has set up an awesome cage complete with matching fleece covers and hammocks (he is so excited and has learned a lot from reading here and other sites).

But we are not having luck finding a breeder in socal (oc or inland empire preferred, possibly LA county).
One breeder we found here does not have any available right now, maybe 2-3 months before she does.
I saw someone mention in another thread a breeder in Irvine?? That would be perfect. If anyone has another breeder to recommend, please let me know.

We really can not travel farther than the counties listed above and since he has saved up for this himself, we do not have the budget to pay an extra $100-200 to have one shipped (not to mention, he would like to pick it himself).

I appreciate any help.

Vitakraft VitaSmart Chinchilla Food in Bulk

Is there a way to order Vitakraft VitaSmart Chinchilla Food in a bulk, my 3lb food costs about $15.00 a bag. If someone could give me a website that ships internationally or to Ontario, Canada; I would greatly appreciate.

Ideal dust bath length of time?

I read in a few places that chinchillas need dust baths 2-3 times a week for 15-20 minute sessions. Is this accurate? I give my little guy dust baths but he takes about a minute and he's done, I don't want to force him to take any longer but this has caused me to let him take a bath anytime he wants (since the baths are so short) should I just allow him to do it whenever he wants or still just every other day? He doesn't manage to get even close to 15 minutes in one day which makes me curious.